Which Commander deck to give a casual player for the holidays?
The Kitchen Table forum
Posted on Nov. 13, 2017, 8:59 p.m. by Dredge4life
I have a friend who wants to take their first steps into the wonderful world of EDH, after only playing a few games with the Atarka intro pack from Dragons of Tarkir. With the Holidays coming up, I thought that a Commander precon would be the perfect gift. The problem Im having is which one to buy. This person is very new to the game, but loves its complexity. I want to get them a deck they will have fun exploring, but I also dont want it to be too difficult for them to pilot. Which precon from 2013 and onwards would be the best choice? Ideally would like to spend no more than 40$, but I can go higher if necessary. I apologize for the lack of information, but theres really not much for me to go on here either. Thanks for taking the time to to comment! (Sorry if this is the wrong forum.)
My personal choice would be the "Plunder the Graves" Precon with Meren. It's really fun and easy to upgrade with cheap cards. I'd say it's the best for a gift. Or the one with Kaalia
November 14, 2017 12:10 a.m.
CrazedGinger says... #4
I have heard great things about Plunder the Graves but since it was a limited printing an unopened deck will be hard to find and way above your budget. Of all the newly released precons I would also like to recommend the Cat deck. Being the only 2 colour precon released this year the mana base is very reliable and simple(cheap) to upgrade. You should reconsider buying a 3 colour commander for this reason. The cat deck is tribal but also has a strong reliance on equipment meaning your friend can take more liberties when making changes to it. Were as upgrading the other '17 decks feel a little more solved, especially the wizzies which heavily rely on combos and stack control. Another reason to buy this as a gift is it will be easy to find. Unlike the other 3 tribal decks which have cards heavily valued for other reasons (gale caster colossus, Kess, teferface's protection, etc.) The cat deck has value but it isn't really skewed towards one or two cards in particular.
November 14, 2017 1:04 a.m.
I would also say plunder the graves is fun. And it can be powerful in casual playgroups. Its about $48 on tcg player.
Power hungry is fun out of box, and can be upgraded to be very powerful. With three colors there will be more costly to get a real good mana base, but green ramp spells do help this. About $39 on tcg.
Open hostility is decent out of box, but as a four color deck mana base can be costly to upgrade (green again helps). But can be done on lite budget if only for real casual play groups. Costs about $40.
I don't like the cat deck, too linear for my tastes. And it doesn't have a very high competitive ceiling when it comes to upgrades (even in casual games). Out of the new decks i like the dragon deck (but it needs a lot better mana for constancy, but did win some out of box in my local meta.). Its about $40.
Arcane wizardry is not very powerful out of box, but can be upgraded on budget and be good. Its $27 on tcg.
The above are in order of my preference.
Except for the wizard deck, i have personally bought and upgraded each of the recommended decks. Plunder the graves is the easiest to upgrade on a budget.
November 14, 2017 7:33 a.m.
If your budget is 40 your only options most likely are gona be this year and last year
November 14, 2017 8:27 a.m.
I'd say Swell The Host (UG with ezuri)It's super easy to upgrade and fun right out of the gatesThey're only going for $40usd too!
November 14, 2017 12:55 p.m.
Seize Control with Mizzix of the Izmagnus seems like fun to me. I also like Call the spirits because Daxos the Returned is slow but reliable and straightforward.
Suns_Champion says... #2
I've been thinking about this for my friend as well. I'm thinking about getting her the 2017 cat deck.
November 13, 2017 9:25 p.m.